The former president of Ecuador Rafael Correa has defended a multi-million dollar spy operation to protect Julian Assange in the country’s London embassy after an investigation by the Guardian revealed that his government had employed an international security company and undercover agents during much of the Australian’s six-year stay.

Correa, who was president of Ecuador between 2007 and 2017, called the Guardian’s “Operation Hotel” story “sensationalistic” and said the embassy security measures were “routine and modest” in an interview with the Intercept .

“When we have special security, we hire private security firms to provide it. There is nothing unusual about this. It would have been a violation of our duties if we did not,” he told the website.

Correa, who now lives in his wife’s home country of Belgium, claimed Ecuador’s current government was not allowing the WikiLeaks founder to receive visitors, a move he criticised, describing it as a form of “torture” and a violation of the country’s duty to protect Assange’s wellbeing and safety.